BSc (Hons) Sustainable Product Design

Delivery of this module is based on ‘confirmation inquiry’ – a foundational level of inquiry geared for developing your understanding of key concepts and themes as well as basic methodologies and approaches to academic work, relevant to your discipline. You’ll then have the opportunity to analyse a problem or question that relates to your subject area.

This module will introduce core skills and methods relating to research, design and manufacture. In addition to developing and applying these skills and understanding, you’ll develop skills in research, critical analysis, pattern cutting, garment construction, image making, colour, textile design and design development for both fashion and textiles, and costume.

This module provides a practical understanding of the use of basic hand tools and the safe operation of machinery used in the making of products and furniture. The core skills cover the following cognate areas: craft and hand skills; furniture and 3D making principles and processes; machine induction; tool & machine maintenance; Computer Aided Design and industry software. 

In this module, learners will be introduced to basic making processes, using both hand tools and simple machinery, thereby enabling students to develop their own mock-ups and prototypes, and gain a practical understanding of materials, processes and construction. They will also be introduced to CAD skills which enable digital 3D design.

This module introduces students to the creative potential of a range of materials including metal, wood and plastics. Understanding of these materials will be achieved through hands on experience and demonstrations of associated core processes. Overarching design and make briefs will underpin the delivery of these and help to guide thinking towards the appropriate application of ideas to materials to produce a range of outcomes.

Students will be encouraged to formulate their own personal strategies to develop innovative solutions. This module aims to promote the acquisition of inter-disciplinary skills via experimentation, through model making, material testing, and practical and conceptual research.

This module provides an understanding of the design fundamentals needed to be proficient in furniture design. It will cover design thinking, user centred design and design applications for furniture design and manufacture. This will include several methods to communicate design processes, problem solving using design principles; drawing and sketching in analogue and digital forms; delivering machine readable files; design digital technologies.

This module will develop students' practical, analytical and creative skills in visual recording, analysis, design development and presentation of their work. It is designed to extend and embed their understanding of drawing and its relationship to conventions used to record visual research, as a tool for design development, to communicate technical information and to present design proposals in a professional manner.

This module introduces students to UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), where the basic objectives of sustainability in relation to products are to reduce consumption of non-renewable resources, minimize waste, and create healthy, productive environments.

It will highlight the role of the design and furniture industry in minimising the impact on the natural environment, covering sustainable issues and processes that will ensure product / furniture design and manufacture aligns with our ethical, social and cultural responsibilities. This will include the following areas: upcycling; reuse and refurbishing; Sustainable Development Goals; Net ZERO; Life Cycle Analysis.

This interdisciplinary theory-based module introduces students to the skills and perspectives needed to research, analyse, speak and write about images, objects and designed spaces. It familiarises students with a number of historical and contemporary topics and issues, alongside the development of skills in research, critical analysis and communication, and interpretive strategies appropriate to studio-based art & design disciplines.

This module aims to develop students' understanding and appreciation of design as a systemised process with distinct interdisciplinary stages, and to further develop the toolbox of design and skills such as creative thinking, problem solving, group work and communication skills, through group projects. It aims to show how these skills can be applied to solve real design problems. It will raise awareness of the visual aspects of product design, encourage creativity, active contribution of ideas and effort within group activities. Students will be encouraged to consider their efforts and those of other learners through analysis and discussion, to develop qualitative evaluation of functional, practical and aesthetic issues.

This module will develop students understanding of the methods and benefits of computers in the design and manufacture of products and furniture. It will provide opportunities for the use of CAD and CAM software, to include draughting, design, control of CNC machine tools and to produce models and prototypes. In addition, there will be introduction to computer-based design analysis tools.

Project based tutorials and seminars will be used to explore the role of 3D CAD drawings and renderings as a persuasive medium of communication. Students will produce a comprehensive set of integrated design illustrations and animations in response to a project brief. Design communication and visualisation skills are the key to the effective understanding and communication of design intent, manufacturing processes, procurement of contracts for contemporary design teams in professional design practice and its application in collaborative design practice.

This module will explore the challenges and opportunities related to current sustainability issues in the furniture and product design sector. Learners will investigate a current industry issue that aligns with their developing area of interest. This may be a topic that relates to circular economies; product lifetimes; eco labelling; material sourcing and management; responsible production; carbon footprint: waste management: logistics: or another aspect of sustainable design. They will become familiar with a range of models within sustainable design considering successes, failures and barriers to improving lives, products and services through responsible design. This module will also allow the opportunity for the development of individual practice as students reflect on key themes to identify innovative solutions.

Drawing on the knowledge, understanding and skills acquired in Year 1, this module offers a more focused and critical approach to issues and concerns surrounding visual and material culture, and contemporary art & design practice. Students will engage with a range of theoretical approaches and methods of research and analysis. In preparation for Year 3, they exercise their skills to formulate research questions. They also refine research and critical analysis skills, and capacity to communicate their arguments effectively. By the end of the module, students also engage with research methods and ethics, to help them make informed choices as to the subject and approach of their Year 3 Dissertation.

This module encourages learners to consider and evaluate their product design practice within a professional context, and to develop an understanding of the key considerations required to support practice. It informs students about the structures and organisations which underpin professional practice within the design industries, preparing them to enter the industry as designers, makers and a myriad of other roles relating to the logistics of production within the wider product design field. They will be informed by various models of practice that seek to further enhance professional ambition and communication, as well as explore ethical practices and sustainable approaches in a variety of contexts. Students will be engage in self-directed projects, including collaborative projects, and competitions (for example, a brief drawn from national student design competitions to provide external validity, social currency and context).

This module provides learners with the opportunity to develop a personal approach through self-guided reflection of their career path and is intended to enable them to focus on the discrete development of technical and professional practice skills in the context of their studio and wider practice. During this level, learners become increasingly responsible for their own direction within the taught framework and will be encouraged to identify personal design ambitions and creative identity.

This module will enable students to apply their understanding of a range of materials including ceramic, metal, wood and plastics towards a series of overarching design briefs with an emphasis on small scale, batch and mass manufacture. Its principal aims are:

1. To advance learners’ understanding and experience of design, materials, manufacturing and the professional context, through developing and applying the skills learnt in Level 4 to the requirements of a client and the commercial/industrial context.
2. To explore the principles of batch/mass production.
3. To develop models/prototypes/made items to realise client led or live external design briefs.
4. To develop the ability to select production methods appropriate to set design briefs.

This industry focused module helps students better understand the professional standards needed to work in the contemporary design industry and encourages a wider appreciation and understanding of the creative sector, and its social and ethical responsibility. Students will apply an evidence-based creative process, to identify cognitive and emotional needs of users, and use these to develop solutions to a live industry brief. The exploration of a range of design and creative thinking strategies will encourage them to formulate their own personal design strategies to develop creative, realisable and innovative solutions. Students will be encouraged to consider design as an entrepreneurial activity and personally recognise design opportunities, commercial and social needs that can be addressed through designed solutions.

This module helps students better understand the professional standards needed to work in the contemporary design industry and encourages a wider appreciation and understanding of the creative sector, and its social and ethical responsibility. Students will apply an evidence-based creative process, to identify cognitive and emotional needs of users, and use these to develop solutions to a live industry brief. The exploration of a range of design and creative thinking strategies will encourage them to formulate their own personal design strategies to develop creative, realisable and innovative solutions. They will be encouraged to consider design as an entrepreneurial activity and personally recognise design opportunities, commercial and social needs that can be addressed through designed solutions.

This module will enhance students’ understanding and appreciation of the roles, relationships, and responsibilities that can play a major part in progressing and sustaining their professional practice. Extending their work in relation to career aspirations, students will develop visual, verbal and written presentation skills to support communication within a range of business, financial and professional frameworks. They will be encouraged to undertake commissions and other work-related learning opportunities such as engaging with industry briefs and/or competitions, and to devise or engage in creative initiatives and collaborative projects relevant to their work. Live briefs set by clients may be featured, allowing students to gain experience with real world, industry challenges. 

The module encourages students to collaborate on creative projects and operate professionally within the creative industries. It aims to identify appropriate audiences and potential markets for the consumption of their practice, where work can be presented to prospective clients with a clear understanding of target market, and where appropriate, manufacturing/technology implications of batch/mass production are understood.

The module aims to ensure that developments and achievements are documented in a professional format directed towards their own aspirations in the subject area, developing the student’s ability to present their profiles in a professional form and manner to their chosen target audience.

The Dissertation is a response to the students' emerging, subject specific interests. It is a culmination of the contextual work learners have completed over Year 1 and Year 2, a chance to showcase their academic and communication skills in their chosen format. Through workshops and supervision, this module provides a supportive framework to help students develop a sustained, rigorous, analytical and creative piece of work, which contextualises and theorises the learners’ practice.

The module will develop students' understanding of the way in which design must be structured, analysed, controlled and assessed in order that functions can be achieved by manufacturing in an efficient and economic way. Design methods will be explored that allow products to be manufactured, assembled and disassembled more efficiently, thus producing designs that are higher quality, easier to maintain, and are more efficient in the use of resources over their entire life cycle. Whole life costings, life cycle analysis techniques and cradle to cradle thinking will help to ensure that the environmental consequences of design choices are carefully considered.